Edvardas Bagdonas

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), a major cause of death and morbidity worldwide, is characterized by expiratory airflow limitation that is not fully reversible, deregulated chronic inflammation, and emphysematous destruction of the lungs. Despite the fact that COPD is a steadily growing global healthcare problem, the conventional therapies remain palliative, and regenerative approaches for disease management are not available yet. We aim to provide an overview of key reviews, experimental, and clinical studies addressing lung emphysema development and repair mechanisms published in the past decade. Novel aspects discussed herein include integral revision of the literature focused on lung microflora changes in COPD, autoimmune component of the disease, and environmental risk factors other than cigarette smoke. The time span of studies on COPD, including emphysema, chronic bronchitis, and asthmatic bronchitis, covers almost 200 years, and several crucial mechanisms of COPD pathogenesis are described and studied. However, we still lack the holistic understanding of COPD development and the exact picture of the time-course and interplay of the events during stable, exacerbated, corticosteroid-treated COPD states, and transitions in-between. Several generally recognized mechanisms will be discussed shortly herein, ie, unregulated inflammation, proteolysis/antiproteolysis imbalance, and destroyed repair mechanisms, while novel topics such as deviated microbiota, air pollutants-related damage, and autoimmune process within the lung tissue will be discussed more extensively. Considerable influx of new data from the clinic, in vivo and in vitro studies stimulate to search for novel concise explanation and holistic understanding of COPD nowadays.

Micronuclei (MN) were analyzed in erythrocytes of flounder (Platichthys flesus) and wrasse (Symphodus melops) and in gill cells of blue mussels (Mytilus edulis). The organisms were collected from three study stations in the Baltic Sea and from seven stations in the North Sea (Karmsund area, Norway) 4 times. The statistically significant differences obtained were related to the season, sex of the fish, and sampling locality. Higher MN frequencies were found in fish and mussels collected from the most polluted study stations in the North Sea. The same tendency could be described in the Baltic Sea; however, it was masked by the recent oil spill from the Butinge oil terminal. Our results showing higher MN frequencies in presumably what were the most polluted study locations suggest that MN tests in fish and mussels may be used for the detection of genotoxic effects in a marine environment. The endpoint is well characterized and can be easily recognized, and the technique is convenient to use in field samplings following standard procedures and protocols.

The aim of the study was to evaluate the toxicity and genotoxicity of heavy metals (HM) (Cu and Zn) and their mixture to rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss). No significant alterations in the erythrocyte count and haemoglobin concentration were found after exposure to Cu, Zn and their mixture at all three concentrations studied. The most significant decrease (P < 0.001) in leukocyte count was determined in the blood of fish exposed to 0.25 LC50 of HM and their mixture, 0.125 and 0.0625 LC50 of HM mixtures. A slight, but significant increase (P < 0.05) in hematocrit level was found in the blood of fish exposed to a 0.125 LC50 concentration of Cu and HM mixture. The frequency of micronucleated erythrocytes (MNE) increased after exposure to HM and their mixture at all three concentrations studied (0.25, 0.125 and 0.06 LC 50) (P < 0.0001), but there were no significant differences in MNE levels among the concentrations studied (P = 0.136). After a 96-hour recovery (in clean water) of the fish exposed to a HM mixture, the levels of MNE significantly decreased at the highest and lowest concentrations studied (P = 0.0001 and P = 0.004, respectively).

Biomarkers, especially biochemical markers, are important in osteoarthritis (OA) research, clinical trials, and drug development and have potential for more extensive use in therapeutic monitoring. However, they have not yet had any significant impact on disease diagnosis and follow-up in a clinical context. Nevertheless, the development of immunoassays for the detection and measurement of biochemical markers in OA research and therapy is an active area of research and development. The evaluation of biochemical markers representing low-grade inflammation or extracellular matrix turnover may permit OA prognosis and expedite the development of personalized treatment tailored to fit particular disease severities. However, currently detection methods have failed to overcome specific hurdles such as low biochemical marker concentrations, patient-specific variation, and limited utility of single biochemical markers for definitive characterization of disease status. These challenges require new and innovative approaches for development of detection and quantification systems that incorporate clinically relevant biochemical marker panels. Emerging platforms and technologies that are already on the way to implementation in routine diagnostics and monitoring of other diseases could potentially serve as good technological and strategic examples for better assessment of OA. State-of-the-art technologies such as advanced multiplex assays, enhanced immunoassays, and biosensors ensure simultaneous screening of a range of biochemical marker targets, the expansion of detection limits, low costs, and rapid analysis. This paper explores the implementation of such technologies in OA research and therapy. Application of novel immunoassay-based technologies may shed light on poorly understood mechanisms in disease pathogenesis and lead to the development of clinically relevant biochemical marker panels. More sensitive and specific biochemical marker immunodetection will complement imaging biomarkers and ensure evidence-based comparisons of intervention efficacy. We discuss the challenges hindering the development, testing, and implementation of new OA biochemical marker assays utilizing emerging multiplexing technologies and biosensors.